All Forum Posts by: Chris H.

Of course it is mostly in the numbers. She is making her mortgage payments etc... I think the lack of maintenance is more an issue of time to attend to the problems as opposed to finances. 

My other renter is a woman who has  very good job, has a masters degree, but just does not want to be a homeowner. So she is willing to pay more than a homeowner to not have to deal with the occassional issues associated with owning. I'm thinking this could turn out to be a similar situation.

She keeps the place clean.

I think I may be able to get better terms on a mortgage than she currently has.

There is a small older home near my other rent house I am interested in. Here is why;

The house is well built in the 30's and until recently well maintained. It is currently owned by a young woman who is a single mom of 2 children ( different dads I think). Anyway she seems to be struggling with keeping the place up. She is employed in a stable but menial administrative job.

She purchased the property from a friend of mine about 6 years ago. 

I am considering offering to buy it from her and rent it back. The idea being that I would be able to make some repairs and take care of the maintenance better than her.

There are tree limbs hitting the roof ( shingles will be gone pretty soon),. some outdoor light fixtures broken with wires exposed....

Now, the property includes a build able lot next to it and the area is a very desirable area.

What might the downside be on this?

I would probably build another rental property next to it with a year or two.

btw, this is in Texas where rent laws tend to favor landlords more than a lot of other states.

I partnered with my son last January to buy a home for him and his 5 year old. He was just back off military deployment and surprise divorce- so he had no cash and little income.

The local market was hot, we missed a couple homes. Found one in good area, older like 1974, but kept up okay by original owner as far as we could tell. I hired a home inspector and the report showed a lot of minor stuff, and one not so minor electrical issue which we resolved in the contract.

A week after moving in, I saw in the detached garaged the reason the garage door opener was not working. The main span beam it was attached to had a crack in it you could see daylight through. In fact both of the main beams were cracked and deflected over an inch. The garage door header was also cracked.

Hired another inspector who found numerous additional problems. 

Hired local attorney to get repair money back from home inspector. After 10 months of lost paperwork and only bills from the attorney, I am not sure where to go from here.

Any advice appreciated.